VISIT NICARAGUA! DECREE TEXT AND REVISED COUNTRY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 MANAGUA 000314 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC,INR/IAA DEPT ALSO FOR G/TIP, IO/RHS, DRL AND PRM DEPT FOR DS/CR/OCI DEPT ALSO FOR CA/FPP DEPT PASS TO USOAS AND USAID MONTREAL FOR USICAO PANAMA FOR REGIONAL ICE REP DOJ FOR CBP AND ICE TREASURY FOR SENICH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS ASEC PGOV SMIG PREL NU SUBJECT: VISIT NICARAGUA! DECREE TEXT AND REVISED COUNTRY GROUPINGS REF: MANAGUA 301 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (U) Late on March 18, 2009, the Government of Nicaragua (GON) released the official text of Decree 07-2009 that changed Nicaragua's visa policy. Our unofficial English translation appears below. The decree's fundamental change to Nicaragua's visa regime is that citizens from countries in "Class B" may now apply for a visa upon reaching a Nicaraguan Port of Entry (POE),rather than having to do so from abroad prior to travel. While the decree text did not include a list of affected countries, a list published on the Foreign Ministry (MINREX) website indicated that country groupings also have been changed. Only India newly appears on the "Class-B" list. Four countries -- Ecuador, Iran, Libya and the Palestinian Authority -- have moved from "Class-C" directly to "Class-A," effectively granting them visa-waiver. As previously reported, Iran and Libya were changed by decree in December 2007 (REFTEL). Five others -- Haiti, India, Jordan, Pakistan and Thailand -- have been moved from "Class-C" to "Class-A" for non-tourist passport holders only. Visas for tourist passport-holders from these countries (except India, which moved to "Class-B") would still require prior approval from Central Immigration before issuance. ¶2. (SBU) COMMENT. When we inquired with MINREX for a list of countries affected by the new decree, we were directed to the list on the MINREX site. We presume this is authoritative, but did discover several errors and inconsistencies in the MINREX list. Most significantly, Palestine, Libya and Iran all newly appear under "Class-A," but are still listed the "Class-C" grouping. The MINREX list does not anywhere show the Czech Republic, Iceland, Romania or Saint Kitts, which are all "Class-A" countries under the original CA-4 agreement. Also, Serbia and Montenegro still appear together as one country under "Class-B." Finally, neither South Ossetia nor Abkhazia -- to which Nicaragua has granted official recognition -- appear on the visa category lists. However, there is a new entry under "Class-C" for "Entities or Authorities Recognized as States." Western Sahara still appears separately. We will continue to seek clarification on these discrepancies and information about how the new visa will be implemented. END COMMENT. Decree Text - - - - - - ¶3. (U) BEGIN TEXT OF DECREE. (Unofficial Embassy Translation). Decree No. 07-2009 The president of the Republic of Nicaragua, CONSIDERING, ¶I. That it is in the interest of the Government of MANAGUA 00000314 002 OF 007 Reconciliation and National Unity to promote investment and to attract foreign capital to Nicaragua with the purpose of improving the national economy. II. That the Government has the obligation to prevent situations that harm economic growth and tax collection. III. That the tourism industry has been improving and generating greater income for the country, making it necessary to promote both tourism and investment. THEREFORE: In use of the authorities that the Political Constitution confers upon him, HAS DICTATED, The following: DECREE VISA PROCEDURES TO ENTER THE COUNTRY Article 1. In accordance with Covenant of Creation of the Central American Uniform Visa for Free Movement of Foreigners, approved and ratified by the National Assembly on December 12, 2006, and published in Gaceta No. 13 on January 18, 2007, that those citizens who wish to travel to Nicaragua, classified in category B (visa without consultation),will be granted the corresponding visa, without detriment in complying with the requirements of law, any time that they are in national territory, maritime, air and land border check points, and report to the Office of Migration and Foreigners window, where they will pay a fee for the visa and tourism card. Article 2. The Agreements of Visa-Free ("Visa Libre") Status signed by the Republic of Nicaragua with other States remain in force. As well as the ones subscribed with the United Nations Organizations (UN) and with the Organization of American States (OAS). Article 3. The Ministries of Government and Foreign Affairs, and the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute, through their corresponding branches, are ordered to guarantee the compliance of these dispositions. Article 4. The present decree will be enforced as soon as it is published in La Gaceta, Diario Oficial. Given in the City of Catarina, on the thirteenth day of the month of March of the year two-thousand-nine. DANIEL ORTEGA SAAVEDRA. President of the Republic of Nicaragua. Ana Isabel Morales Mazun, Minister of Government. MANAGUA 00000314 003 OF 007 END TEXT OF DECREE. ¶4. (U) Following is the list of visa categories for Nicaragua subsequent to the March 13 Presidential Decree. This list appears on the Foreign Ministry website. Since the law from 8-31-2005 was passed that specified the three lists, the following changes have been made by the Sandinista government. We have previously reported on the change for Iran and Libya. BEGIN REVISED (2009) LIST OF VISA CLASSIFICATIONS (Source: Ministry of Foreign Relations) Classification "A" Category (82 entities) Andorra Antigua and Barbados Argentina Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belgium Belize Brazil Brunei-Darussalam Bulgaria Canada Chile Croatia Cyprus Denmark Ecuador Estonia Finland France (For those originating from the other French Territories they will be issued exempt status visa (A) Germany Greece Haiti (Only Dip/Official/Service Passports) Holy See (Vatican) Hong Kong (Only bearers of ordinary British passport originating from Hong Kong that read "Nationality British." Those which read "overseas" will get treatment for visa (c)) Hungary India (Only Dip/Official/Service Passports ONLY; tourist passports TO B list) Iran (SINCE DEC 2007) Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jordan (Only Dip/Official/Service Passports) Kuwait Latvia Libya (SINCE DEC 2007) MANAGUA 00000314 004 OF 007 Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Madagascar Malaysia Malta Marshall Islands Mexico Monaco New Zealand Norway Pakistan (Only Dip/Official/Service Passports) Palestinian Authority Panama Paraguay Poland Portugal Qatar Saint Lucia Saint Tome and Principe Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Salomon Islands San Marino Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand (Only Dip/Official/Service Passports) The Netherlands including Aruba and the Dutch Antilles Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Tuvalu United Kingdom Those originating in the other British territories except Hong Kong as noted will be given exempt status (A). United States of America (Guam Included) Uruguay Vanuatu Venezuela International Organization: (OAS, EU, UN) Classification "B" Category (73 entities) EMBASSY NOTE: It appears the previous application process and fee USD 25 still apply to this grouping, except for the fact that an application can now be made at a Nicaraguan port of entry. Azerbiajan Belarus Benin MANAGUA 00000314 005 OF 007 Bhutan Bolivia Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Colombia Comoros Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Djibouti Dominica Dominica Republic Egypt Equatorial Guinea Fiji Gabon Gambia Georgia Granada Guinea Guinea Bissau Guyana India (tourist Passports; Dip/Official/Service passports now "Class-A") Jamaica Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Krgyzstan Lesotho Malawi Maldives Mauritania Mauritius Micronesia Moldova Morocco Namibia Nauru Niger Palau Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Russia Rwanda Samoa Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Suriname MANAGUA 00000314 006 OF 007 Swaziland Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Tunisia Turkmenistan UAE Uganda Ukraine Uzbekistan Zambia Zimbabwe Classification "C" Category (45 Entities) NOTE: Application requirements, process and fee (USD 25.00) remain unchanged for this grouping. However, several countries appear to have been removed from this list. Issuance Policy: Visas must be authorized by Central Immigration in Managua before the visas are issued abroad; however, the government can send an airline a letter authorizing boarding without a stamped visas in certain cases (which is often abused and has been reported on at length by the Embassy) END NOTE. Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Armenia Bangladesh Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana China (PRC) (except certain citizens from Hong Kong) Congo Cuba Democratic Republic of Congo East Timor Eritrea Ethiopia Ghana Haiti (ONLY tourist Passport holders ) Dip/Official/Service Passports are now on the A list) Indonesia Iraq Jordan (ONLY tourist Passport holders ) Dip/Official/Service Passports are now on the A list) Laos Lebanon Liberia Mali Mongolia Mozambique Nepal Nigeria MANAGUA 00000314 007 OF 007 North Korea Oman Other "Entities or Authorities Recognized as States" Pakistan (ONLY tourist Passport holders ) Dip/Official/Service Passports are now on the A list) Sierra Leone Somalia Sri Lanka Sudan Syria Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen NOTE: the following still appear, probably erroneously, on the MINREX list. India Iran Libya Palestinian Authority END REVISED (2009) LIST OF VISA CLASSIFICATIONS. SANDERS